The Mail Tribune of Medford considers it outrageous Rogue Valley residents will not be able to watch the annual Civil War football game between the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. The newspaper cites a dispute between a government-franchised cable television provider and an organization representing taxpayer-funded state universities.

The Daily Astorian, on Oregon's north coast, takes issue with the approach by the Oregon School Activities Association in trying to reorganize athletics across the state. While lauding the idea of equalizing opportunities for districts of varying size, the newspaper says OSAA should pay close attention to the amount of money schools pay to transport their athletic teams.

Seattle voters overwhelmingly approved a $290 million bond measure to rebuild the Elliott Bay seawall, a showing that in hard times wins a big Thank You from The Seattle Times. The newspaper cites the integrity of the seawall as essential to downtown commerce and tourism.

The Columbian of Vancouver celebrates the academic opportunities available to folks who wish to learn college-level material from home, via the Internet and connecting to such institutions as Harvard and Duke universities.

The intense political focus on the so-called "fiscal cliff" distracts from the persistent and damaging problem of unemployment. The Los Angeles Times argues it would be tragic if Congress were to forget the needs of the unemployed in order to clip even a mere $30 billion from the $1 trillion deficit.

Mark Hester of The Oregonian's editorial board, meanwhile, reflects on Thanksgiving as the one holiday that can be fashioned to suit anyone's efforts at giving thanks -- while also suggesting the best impulses of gratitude are those that last beyond the holiday itself.

And columnist David Sarasohn notes that the holiday is about togetherness and gatherings, social circumstances more difficult to achieve during times of flood and power outage. But the notion that people can be grateful for one another transcends distance, always.